It’s debatable whether George Orwell surmised the ominous threat of totalitarianism that inspired him to pen the dystopic vision, 1984, would extend worldwide and resurface nearly seven decades after its publication. But the novel’s apt description of a world on end have undoubtedly come to pass.
Innumerable examples evidence how 1984 would better be described as a dark portent than a fascinating read, but one thing — the political language dubbed Newspeak, employed by the ruling government, Ingsoc — seems to have served as an instruction manual for the American empire.
Political language stands as arguably the most influential means to shape foreign policy. Through deliberate manipulation of speech, politicians can rally popular support for factually undesirable military operations — or stir fear of any enemy when geostrategic goals demand, even if the targeted group or government poses no actual threat at all.
On the 67th anniversary of the publication of Orwell’s 1984, the following list comprises only a fraction of possible examples of the U.S. government’s version of Newspeak.
1. Moderate rebels
If the public might not be thrilled with government plans to support terrorists, officials simply offer up the less-than-honest term, moderate rebels — and Americans verily stand behind funding and arming the now-non-terrorists to the teeth.
Most notoriously, President Obama and his administration continually advance the notion that training and arming so-called Syrian moderate rebels is somehow a good idea — by hammering the term into gullible minds through its willing mouthpiece, the corporate media. In fact, documents declassified last year proved the U.S. and its allies support for various moderate rebel groups not only led to the formation of Daesh (the so-called Islamic State), officials knew about — and desired — that to happen in hopes a “Salafist principality” would help depose Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Obviously spiraling out of control into a chaotic quagmire — despite the U.S. having spent $500 million training “4 or 5” rebels — reports earlier this year indicated, as Anti-Media reported,
the same Shia militias fighting with the U.S. to maintain its installed government in Iraq are battling against the U.S.-backed forces — including those armed by the CIA — by bolstering Russian and Iranian efforts to bring control of [Aleppo] back to Assad.
Moderate rebels is just another opportunistic distortion of an already subjective term.
2. War on Terror
In itself, dystopic, perpetual war now appears to be a reality thanks to the U.S. declaring a War on Terror — a concept, whose reality to people in countless locations it plays out, should honestly be called the War of Terror.
Through the use of such preposterously vague terminology, U.S. bellicrats — the war-touting politicians determined to plump the wallets of the military-industrial machine — cemented the country’s dubious status as World Bully.
After all, waging war on a concept begets a bottomless trove of potential ‘enemy’ targets. World leaders unwilling to bend to the U.S.’ will, sovereign people unfortunate enough to be situated near a natural resource a corporate conglomerate needs, groups fighting for independence from an American ‘ally’ — hell, even segments of the U.S. populace are now deemed terrorists for differing political ideologies.
A War on Terror parallels 1984: “Oceania was at war with Eastasia: Oceania had always been at war with Eastasia.” Considering the broad focus coupled with the lack of an official declaration of war, it’s entirely feasible the U.S. will always be at war with Terror.
3. No boots on the ground
How many times has the State Department resolutely declared ‘there will be no boots on the ground in [insert any nation here]’? Concerning Syria, alone, the number topped 16 — and then, with a straight face, the Obama administration outlandishly claimed it never said so.
“It’s just not true,” John Kirby, State Department spokesman, pompously told an understandably perplexed reporter when questioned on whether officials had promised no boots on the ground in Syria. “It’s just not true.”
But, of course, it is true. Not even a question. Not even plausibly deniable. It’s been captured on video. Quoted in articles. So common is the phrase, in fact, it passes largely unnoticed. And no boots on the ground culminating with boots on the ground doesn’t end with Syria.
Five-thousand boots not on the ground somehow ended up fighting on the front lines in Iraq. And now troops are fighting Daesh in Libya. And elsewhere. No boots on the ground has become such a farcical claim, even corporate media have pointed out its illegitimacy.
Just as the War on Terror provides a blanket excuse to further American imperialist goals wherever convenient, no boots on the ground offers the technical out for the U.S. to deploy special forces — and their boots. On the ground.
4. Elections
Every four years, U.S. voters head to the polls to elect the lesser of any number of evils, after enduring over a year of propagandistic mudslinging between various presidential candidates. But this year’s run for the White House evidences the stark futility in that putative exercise of rights.
Countless anecdotal reports of fraud in nearly every state’s primary or caucus thus far largely magically work in Hillary Clinton’s favor. But this makes perfect sense — considering the establishment’s slavish devotion to the former Secretary of State on full display through the corporate media’s laughably slanted reporting. From the moment election season kicked off, the more cynical among us contended candidates are selected, not elected, whatever the system would have you believe.
All arguments to the contrary aside, the Associated Press might have unintentionally proved precisely that, just this week, with its early crowning of Hillary Clinton as the presumptive Democratic nominee. Irate voters and independent media immediately eviscerated the AP’s wholly invalid announcement as comically premature — but mainstream media parroted the claim in full force, exactly as expected. Now, quelle surprise, evidence Clinton might have literally colluded with the AP to ensure its claim would circulate prior to California’s primary to dissuade voters has surfaced.
Whatever hope voters had to install a (superficially) counter-establishment candidate in the highest office should evaporate in 2016 — the year Americans finally figured out the system is rigged beyond repair. Indeed, election truly amounts to U.S. Newspeak for selection.
5. News
In light of the last point, it’s a wonder so many Americans put faith in mainstream, corporate outlets for an accurate summary of the news, yet they still do. Just six corporations own 90 percent of all media platforms in the U.S., effectively controlling the narrative — whether on foreign policy, legislation, or any goal fitting its needs.
Indeed, many call corporate media the government’s mouthpiece for good reason — a number of executives and upper-level staff from mainstream outlets donate the maximum allowed to line the campaign coffers of politicians in every level of government. Plenty of others have proffered hefty sums to organizations with ties to candidates — such as the Clinton Foundation.
Though the merits of a media without any bias could be debated endlessly, to surmise such intermingling of interests leads to favoritism in the press wouldn’t be a stretch. What would be a stretch, however, would be calling reports from these outlets news in the traditional, original sense.
When the government needs Americans’ approval for, well, anything, it simply turns to the press to cough up an appropriately-tilted news item — and even Orwell, rolling in his grave though he may be now, would have called this process by the most honest non-Newspeak term available: propaganda.
This article (5 Ways George Orwell’s 1984 Has Come True Since It Was Published 67 Years Ago) is free and open source. You have permission to republish this article under a Creative Commons license with attribution to Claire Bernish and theAntiMedia.org. Anti-Media Radio airs weeknights at 11pm Eastern/8pm Pacific. If you spot a typo, email [email protected].
I noticed, but Homeland Security and thePatriot Act should verify this for any doubter’s.
I was told by a lawyer who was on retainer for a big corporation that since then, we have zero – ‘rights’ any more. And when they tighten the noose again, when expedient – we will all realize it.
Well….it may well come to the organized militia part of the 2nd Amendment. I honestly do not know many people in the military that would obey any orders that involved defending the elected parasite’s from the unruly mob. I wonder how many, in the military, realize that the military has been misused by corporate interests rather than national interests. I learned a couple of things when I studied Political Science. One of the most telling and scary things was the INEVITABLE rise in NEED for a global government because of population increase. Put the emotions aside and it does become obvious, but that does not hide the ugliness of a One World government. George Orwell was either prescient or a time-traveler. The story; “1984” is now real-life. With all of the warning gun-owner’s have gotten, it is unlikely that ANY attempt at gun-confiscation would succeed. These people are looking to reduce population’s to a more manageable level without losing their positions of power and influence. one MAJOR obstacle that stands in their way is the armed, American citizen that has a reasonable experience in education and freedom. The powers that be just can’t afford to have US around. The younger generations seem to have been engineered to decry freedom, ideas and everything that made the USA the bastion of creative, rewarded effort. Capitalism has made for miraculous advancement. The lament just might become; “Alas Babylon”.
capitalism has never “worked” for anybody without any capital.
Time is capital. Your time is potential money. If you decide to waste it on sneaker and Xboxes then you’ve wasted your money, your time, and your potential. Capitalism works just fine for people who aren’t lazy and when coupled with reasonable social safety nets then it works well for all. Better than say… communism or socialism as both have failed to produce a single viable nation on earth. Show me a nation that hasn’t embraced the free market in some form of sudo-capitalism and I’ll show you starvation.
You clearly understand neither Capitalism or Socialism.
Sweden, Denmark, Netherlands, Vietnam, China, Swaziland, Botswana, Angola, et al, there are many very successful (in their eyes) countries.
Not everyone wants to live in hollywood.
Not everyone thinks the sun, moon and stars shine out of Kardsashians extremely large youknowwhat.
Sweden, Denmark, Netherlands, Vietnam, China, Swaziland, Botswana, Angola, et al, are not socialist countries. Try again. Perhaps google Nordic capitalism or Nordic social democracy….
Brilliant response! For 60 years Sweden and Denmark are held up as Socialist, but for the purposes of your little argument, they are suddenly “Nordic Capitalist”. You have clearly never visited Botswana or Swaziland, or studied African Socialism.
Vietnam was the most evil communism in the world until they kicked the cr** out of USA, and then suddenly they become … What?
China is not socialist? Everything is state owned (the state owns the banks that decide who gets the capital) and who gets what rewards. Ooooh there is corruption, oooooh there are billionaires, ooooh there are big factories and companies, so what, the basic premise of China is the workers control the state and production. ‘But it is not democratic’ what has that to do with anything? Who has control?
If you can’t win the debate, just change the definitions.
Sad little man, his world is crumbling because of his system and instead of examining his beliefs, he (and a 100 million like him) shout USA USA, Make America great again.
Read Marx, John Stuart Mills, Shaw and a hundred others.
America was at its’ greatest in the 50s and 60s, when the worker had the greatest control and escaped from the banks. Small business with worker – owner management built a great country. Finance regained the upper hand, took ownership of everything, and destroyed worker power.
It is called “Debt Servitude”much cheaper for the owner than slavery, much more profitable, and soooo much more moral.
Bad luck!
“We are in power. Nobody will deny it. By virtue of that power we shall remain in power…We have no words to waste on you. When you reach out your vaunted strong hands for our palaces and purpled ease, we will show you what strength is. In roar of shell and shrapnel and in whine of machine-guns will our answer be couched. We will grind you revolutionists down under our heel, and we shall walk upon your faces. The world is ours, we are its lords, and ours it shall remain. As for the host of labor, it has been in the dirt since history began, and I read history aright. And in the dirt it shall remain so long as I and mine and those that come after us have the power. There is the word. It is the king of words–Power. Not God, not Mammon, but Power. Pour it over your tongue till it tingles with it. Power.”
– Mr. Wickson, The Iron Heel by Jack London (1908)
The end is nigh!
Hope that you are a Prepper!
Well…there is that.
not everybody’s time qualifies as capital. some people’s time is basically worthless other than as slave labor.
Yeah,
and there is a MILITARY standing ready to replace everything we have provided a System is viable to replace it.
Orwellian predictions are just some of the consequences today’s America is reaping as a result of the wind sown by the 18th-century founders when they replaced Yahweh’s unchanging moral law with man’s capricious edicts as the supreme law of the land:
“[B]ecause they have transgressed my covenant, and trespassed against my law … they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind….” (Hosea 8:1, 7)
For more on how Yahweh’s triune moral law (His Ten Commandments and their respective statutes and judgments) apply and should be implemented today, see free online book “Law and Kingdom: Their Relevance Under the New Covenant.” Click on my picture, then our website. Go to our Online Books page and scroll down to title.
Then, find out how much you REALLY know about the Constitution as compared to the Bible. Take our 10-question Constitution Survey in the right-hand sidebar and receive a complimentary copy of a book that EXAMINES the Constitution by the Bible.
We don’t want the U.S. Constitution abolished especially for your wacky idea of installing one-man rule. Too many generations of Americans have enjoyed the liberty and freedom afforded by the U.S. Constitution. We’d like to continue avoiding tyranny, thank you very much!
Where do the millennial’s get their news now that Jon Stewart has left Comedy Central?
He was briefed and allowed to write that piece.
The enemy of man usually reveals what they will do before they do it.
There able, because we’ve rejected our Creator by placing man above him for our own prideful reasons.
Repentance is required to fix this.
1984 was clearly not a prediction, it was a playbook. Almost every student forced to read it believed it was a blueprint of human destiny and that collective belief created the reality template from the matrix blueprint. We the readers made it happen with our minds… just as they knew we could and would, just as we can create anything we’re programmed to create. Break from the program and stop creating their reality for them.
I don’t know YOUR teachers but mine approached this book (and several others) as a warning of what might happen if we didn’t pay attention. A WARNING!!!
You seem to have missed the message in my comment. Let me try again… the book was intended as a blueprint of how they wanted to create and control the future of humanity. Orwell took their plan, implanted it in our minds with words, and our minds created the reality because we believed it would come true. So in this case, your “warning” was actually a fait accompli. Perhaps you don’t realize that the collective minds of humanity determine reality with its thoughts, We are taught to believe reality just is and we all are simply here to respond to it. All our teachers missed the entire point of the book because they didn’t know this one fact, but we know now. That is the whole key to how the controllers control the world.
Not all students/people have read that book. I suspect that not enough have read it for the collective mind to do as you suggest.
I suspect you’re wrong. We even have the term “Orwellian” to describe our current reality. Orwell knew what he was creating; that’s why he used a pen name. The book has sold about 25 million copies, right about the same number as another predictive programming novel, The Hunger Games. Coincidence, not.
Many more people saw the movie “Alice in wonderland”, and we still don’t have it…. yet.
1984 is now just another love story. There’s nothing extraordinary happening in it beside this.
1984 shoulda been called 2016
How was that comment offensive I was just pointing out how “1984” is a lot like “2016”